Hey there metal fans!
First, I would like to apologize for the recent lack of content. With the excitement of the Mayhem
Festival out of the way now, I hope to return to more regular posting. So, without further ado, let’s get down
to business. Two days ago, on
Tuesday, July 16, I attended the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at its
stop in Mansfield, MA. Simply put,
the event was a blast and exceeded my expectations. Even though the festival was a ten-hour ordeal, I wish it
could have lasted longer. Enduring
a barrage of sweltering heat, swarming fans, and staggering riffs, I emerged
more than contented from this blissfully brutal experience. If the festival has not yet made its
stop near your town, I implore you to attend the event and share in the
mayhem. There was a lot going on,
and I was not able to see every set, but I’m going to briefly go through each
group I did see and give my thoughts on their performances.
The
first act to perform was the fairly new Thrown Into Exile. Taking in the atmosphere of the venue,
I was a little slow to make my way to the stage, so I didn’t see their complete
set. In addition, as the first
band to play, they sit farthest back in my memory, so I can’t call forth a
detailed picture of their effort.
But I do recall their performance being surprisingly good, an
entertaining set to kick off the show.
They engaged the audience well, and the audience responded. I was pleased with them as an opener.
Fresh
off their sophomore release, Huntress kicked off the Jagermeister stage. Huntress are a relatively new group
from Highland Park, CA who I am particularly fond of and have been following
since their first release, so I was especially excited to see them perform. They didn’t let me down. The band was laid back, but played with
tight execution. Frontwoman Jill
Janus’ vocals were ferocious and, dare I say, more bloodcurdling in person than
on their records. The group
performed the two singles, or hits, from their first album, “Spell Eater” and
“Eight of Swords” (if they played others from the first album, I didn’t notice)
as well as a few tracks from their new release, including a song with lyrics
penned by Motörhead legend Lemmy Kilmister. Overall, they were great, but I wish they had played more
tracks from their first record. I
understand that as a new band they probably wanted to focus on promoting their
well-known songs and new material, but there are many songs on the first
release that I feel are as strong or stronger than the two hits. Despite this, though, I was glad to
have the chance to see them.
(I
also got the chance to meet Huntress and get their signatures. They were a really friendly, chill
group of people.)
After
Huntress, I went to see what was going on at the Sumerian Records Stage, a spot
(in the shade!) for local groups and smaller acts. I can’t really remember the names of any of the smaller acts
I saw, but as a quick note on this stage, the spot was a nice location that
provided fun, hard-hitting metal despite the lack of big names. The smaller stage allowed for more
intimate band-audience interaction.
The
next noteworthy group I saw was Butcher Babies. Now, this group has received a lot of flack recently for a
couple of reasons. First, the
band’s two frontwomen, Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd, have been known to
perform in a very scantily clad state, and as a result they have garnered
accusations that they are merely using their sexuality to sell music. I can’t get inside their heads and say
one way or the other why they have chosen to perform this way, but in any
event, with the Mayhem Festival they have decided to cease this behavior,
perhaps in response to the criticism.
For their sake, I hope this decision allays people’s concerns. Second, many have simply declared their
music mediocre and, circling back to the first issue, have claimed that they
are exploiting their bodies to distract listeners from their poor sound. I’ll concede that their songs aren’t
mind-blowing. I’m sure if I started
listening to them on repeat I’d get bored. But for a live show, they were fun and energetic, slinging
rhythms worthy of some good headbanging.
Carla and Heidi’s vocals were shrill and slicing; I thought they sounded
pretty cool. Thus, I would
encourage festival goers to give them a chance.
Next
on the list was Born of Osiris.
The Chicago-based group offered an intriguing brand of deathcore, packed
with progressive, tech-death, and djent elements. They really invigorated the audience with thudding yet
danceable rhythms. I enjoyed their
incorporation of the keyboard as well.
It was intricate and gave the music a sci-fi vibe. I hadn’t heard of this group before, so
I was pleasantly surprised by their lively performance.
After
Born of Osiris came Job For a Cowboy.
This group was the hidden gem of the concert for me. I hadn’t explored their discography too
deeply before, but I knew they were a fairly popular group. At the show, I learned why. They delivered an unbridled,
brain-bruising attack. I found
myself swinging my head around as if my neck was being throttled by the
music. Frontman Jonny Davy was
very charismatic and really knew how to bring the crowd into the
performance. He also really
impressed me with his diverse range of vocal techniques. All in all, Job For a Cowboy was very
fun to see live, and I hope they get invited back to Mayhem in the future.
The
next group I watched was Machine Head.
Machine Head is a pretty big name, and they provided a solid
performance, surely pleasing their fans and winning some converts. For me, though, they were a little
underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong;
they delivered some killer, heavy riffage, but overall their set just wasn’t
that memorable for me. During the
performance, I found myself sneaking toward the adjacent stage, where Children
of Bodom were slated to come on next, instead of gravitating closer to the
sounds of Machine Head. Perhaps my
head was too wrapped up in anticipation of Children of Bodom, but so it goes.
So,
as you may have guessed by now, Children of Bodom appeared immediately after
Machine Head finished their set.
I’m a pretty big Bodom fan, so I was very excited to see them and
thought their performance was amazing.
Despite the scalding heat, the Scandinavians brought lots of
energy. They seemed really invested
in the show; Alexei Laiho interjected with wild shouts of enthusiasm after
almost every song (I won’t print his words here, but let’s just say he got
really into it). Their onstage
aura was great. I loved the moment
when Laiho strode right alongside Jan Wirman, with guitar almost touching
keyboard, as the two synchronized their movements in a captivating instrumental
harmony. My only disappointment
with Bodom was that they couldn’t play more songs. I wanted to hear work from their new album (reviewed here) as well as a slew
of their classics. Unfortunately, the
acts not on the main stage received pretty limited time slots. With an extensive discography and only
about thirty-five minutes to work with, Bodom was not able to fit in all the
songs fans would have liked to hear.
A
little bit before Children of Bodom finished their set, the main stage opened
up for the commencement of the headline acts: Amon Amarth, Mastodon, Five
Finger Death Punch, and Rob Zombie.
As a result, I missed the start of Amon Amarth’s show, which saddened
me, but what I saw of their performance was absolutely
thrilling. Their technical ability
was breathtaking and their aggressive riffage was exhilarating. They commanded a strong stage presence
as well, and Johan Hegg even displayed a wry sense of humor. The larger stage afforded the headline
performers the chance to use elaborate props, and Amon Amarth took full
advantage. Half of a Viking ship,
complete with a dragon-headed bow, occupied center stage. It provided a raised platform on which Fredrik
Andersson played drums, with enough space so that the other musicians could
ascend a small staircase and stand atop the ship to emphasize their solos. Amon Amarth played a good mix of old
songs as well as material from their new album (reviewed here), channeling the Viking spirit
all the way. Their performance was
a great way to start the main event.
Next
up was Mastodon, the innovative, unique metal outfit from Atlanta,
Georgia. They really infused
charisma and volume into their powerful musical delivery. As a band that touches on many metal
genres, offering a diverse array of sounds, rhythmic patterns, and vocal
deliveries, Mastodon helped inject a freshness into the latter hours of the
day-long event. Interweaving
punishing riffs and screams with melodic passages and clean, belted vocals, the
group really took the listener for a trip. Their performance of “All the Heavy Lifting” from The Hunter was especially
memorable. There were a lot of
great bands at the festival, but Mastodon may have made the night.
Finally,
I’ll assess Five Finger Death Punch and Rob Zombie together, for, though their
sounds are quite different, I have similar things to say about them. To me, both acts represent a
bland approach to heavy music when compared to the other bands that were present at the festival. However, I understand that the top two
headliners of such an event must possess broad appeal, which necessarily
results in artists with a more mainstream sound. At a live show, though, quality of performance can outweigh personal
taste, and the two acts won me over with their top-notch performing. 5FDP had crowd-moving stage presence
and they really played with authority.
Frontman Ivan Moody was funny and personable, interacting with the crowd
members and even bringing kids onstage for a few songs. Their onstage props included large exhaust
pipes that spewed forth massive smoke screens. As for Rob Zombie, he brought the audience to life with his
theatrics and elaborate, ever-changing costumes. His props included extensive visual media, fearsome
pyrotechnics, and various moving contraptions that he rode on stage for
specific songs. While these
artists weren’t my favorite musicians, they put on quite a show and capped off
the night the right way. I guess
that’s about it. The show was
awesome; do see it if you can. I know
I’ll be back next year.
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